Minister Fikile Mbalula welcomes new developments of arrests made on Marikana killings

Minister of Police, Mr Fikile Mbalula yesterday got a brief on the general crime in Marikana, as well as 11 people who died on the 29th of September 2017.

Following the release of crime statistics, which alluded alcohol as a major contributor in murders, the Police in Philippi East searched 337 unlicensed liquor premises.

Since the redeployment of the new station commander Colonel Mtakati, there has been 4 murder arrest, 4 carjacking, 7 house robberies, 9 business robbery, 24 assault GBH as well as 6 arrest on rape. These are regarded as serious crimes. I am happy with the work done, there has been progress in fighting crime in Phillipi. I am more than confident that we will win the war against criminals. Mbalula said.

In what can be described as a web of criminality, police arrested four of the five suspects believed to be behind the 11 murders that occurred in Marikana on 29 September 2017. With the last suspect still outstanding, SAPS Western Cape are confident they have broken the back of the group behind the senseless murders in the area. All four suspects can each be linked to more than one case. This is a clear indication that those who are doing crime in our communities are few, we must tighten the criminal justice system to ensure we don’t have repeating offenders who terrorize communities. I must applaud the intelligence lead operation and our detectives for a job well done. Mbalula added.

There has been criticism in the past, in terms of the slow progress the SAPS has made in finalising the cases. Minister Mbalula urges our people to appreciate the complexity of cases that are being investigated. The following developments have been made thus far with regard to Marikana killings:

19 year old suspect arrested � Linked to Philippi East Murder. Firearm – retrieved and linked ballistic, arrested in Queenstown and appeared in Wynberg Court. The suspect was positively linked by means of ballistic evidence to 11 Marikana murders. The suspect is currently in Polsmoor.

Two brothers aged 23 and 24 arrested on Monday 13 November 2017 for murder, on Tuesday, 14 November 2017 they were positively linked. A relative of the two brothers aged 27 was arrested on Saturday, 11 November 2017 for an armed robbery case, he was also positively linked to the Marikana killings.

The last outstanding suspect is a 26 year old male. Police are following up all leads and an arrest is expected soon.

Prior to the 11 Marikana murders, 3 burned bodies were found and murder case was registered and investigated. Through an intelligence led operation, three suspects have been arrested

The following 3 suspects have been arrested. Most of the suspects that were arrested, can be linked to more than 1 serious case.

We must applaud the work done by our Police, but as a nation we must pause and reflect on the future of our Country, majority of these suspects are below the ages of 30. Communities are being tormented by the youth. Mbalula added.

The crime in the area has relatively dropped. This can be attributed to a number of interventions. Key among those, is community participation. I would like to applaud the efforts of the Phillipi East station management under the leadership of Colonel Bongani Mtakati who mobilised the community into neighborhood watches. About 500 of them will be inducted soon. They are already embarking on operations with the police in Phillipi East.

Minister Mbalula further urged communities to work close with the Police in fighting crime.